Wide and free, the vast landmass of
Siberia lies behind the Ural mountains. For many centuries, not only
for foreign travelers but also for Russians themselves, Siberia seemed
to be "unknown territory", unsafe and barbaric.

And so Irkutsk
opens up to them even more brightly
and suddenly the richness of its spirit and culture, which have developed
under enormous difficulties and hardships for more than three centuries.
And there are many things to be astonished at.